Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
Ramel (Method) Method
“Lacy, why are we even doing this? It’s clear you’re in love with Michael.
Why tie yourself to a man you don’t love, for the rest of your life?
” It was at least thirty degrees outside, and we’d been on the balcony, going back and forth for the last hour and a half, still getting nowhere.
I saw things one way, and Lacy had something way different in that bird brain of hers.
I didn’t call Lacy a bird brain because she wasn’t smart.
In fact, she was one of the smartest girls I knew, but she didn’t always act like it.
Like right now, she was trying to not only convince me but also convince herself that a marriage between us would somehow be beneficial despite the fact that neither of us was checking for each other like that.
“Because, Ramel, what other choice do we have? We both knew this day was coming.”
“That doesn’t mean we have to go along with it. This agreement was made when we were kids, and honestly, it don’t have shit to do with us.”
I honestly didn’t understand why Lacy refused to see things the way I did. We were in the same boat, being forced into something neither of us wanted. Still, I could tell she was committed to lying to herself just like we’d been doing to everyone else.
“Listen, this is not a discussion we are about to have.” Lacy wiped the tears from her face and straightened her dress. “Let’s get back in there before someone notices we’re gone.”
Lacy and I walked hand in hand back into our engagement party.
I didn’t know half the people in the building, and I knew she didn’t either.
The guest list had been meticulously curated by our mothers and consisted of people who could help further the project they’d been working on our whole lives: Ponya Medical Center.
Ponya Medical had been my parents’ dream since they came to the United States as two young immigrants hoping to become doctors.
The plan was to come here, study medicine, and take what they learned back to Somalia to heal the sick.
However, after having me, their plans of returning home to Africa changed to building a hospital here.
All eyes were on my fiancée and me as we walked back into the building.
I could tell they were all wondering what was next for us after we tied the knot.
I was sure they wanted to know if we would become doctors and work at Ponya Medical, but neither of us wanted to walk in our father’s footsteps.
While Lacy was actually in medical school and putting on a good front, I’d already joined the Army and made it clear it wasn’t happening on my end.
My future wife, whom I had no romantic interest in, was a Med student by day and a struggling actress whenever she could carve out the time to chase her actual dreams. Her parents knew she had no interest in medicine, but were still trying to control every aspect of her life, which was why we were at an engagement party neither of us wanted to attend.
I’d been to a couple of her plays and even watched a movie where she played an extra.
Lacy had real talent, but her Oscar-worthy performance was the show she was putting on right now.
We got settled at the table in the middle of the ballroom that had been reserved for us and put on our best fake smiles.
I lost count of how many people we greeted as they passed.
They were all wearing the same congratulatory smiles as if they knew either of us.
I didn’t care to shake any of their hands or have small talk.
I didn’t want to even be at this party, but Lacy was hell-bent on doing what her parents demanded.
She’d always been that way for as long as I’d known her.
I tried not to judge her for doing the same things she did as a child, well into her adult years, because I’d just recently decided to stray away from my parents’ rules.
Joining the military was the first rebellious decision I’d made, and it was the one that almost broke my family.
I was supposed to go to Med school and become a doctor, just like my parents, but I managed to convince them to let me join.
I told my father I would get the military to pay for my schooling, and once I was in school, I would eventually leave the military.
What they didn’t know was that once you signed a contract, there was nothing anyone could do to get you out of it, so they just had to deal with me.
The dinner went by in a blur as I raked over my food, which wasn’t bad at all, but still couldn’t give me the appetite I needed to actually eat it.
Although the food was good, I couldn’t take my mind off of not wanting to be in the same room with the people who’d given me life.
As much as I wanted to love them, the expectations of being part of this family were becoming a headache that I didn’t know if I could stomach much longer.
We didn’t get the first sign of excitement until the night was coming to an end.
Lacy’s real man, Michael, stormed into the ballroom, clearly drunk and on one.
I couldn’t blame him, especially if the woman I loved told me that she was going to marry another man.
That would never be something that sat right with me.
I didn’t know how he was keeping it together, but it seemed like that shit had come to a head.
“What the fuck is he doing here?” Lacy asked as if I had an answer. The only two things I knew about Michael were that he was her dude and he was a bitch. Those weren’t qualities that made me want to know more.
“How the fuck am I supposed to know, Lace?” I shrugged before downing the last of my drink and waving the server over to bring me another one. I wasn’t drunk enough for this shit.
Without another word to me, Lacy got up and tried her best to make it over to him as fast as she could, but she was too late.
I could tell by the look on Michael’s face that he had been letting this simmer for a while.
All the public appearances we had to make probably had him more fed up than I was.
The only thing different between the two of us was that I didn’t care for Lacy at all.
I loved her like a sister because we grew up together, but it was nothing more than that.
When it came to wanting her to have feelings toward me, that was something that Michael never had to worry about.
Even if I did go with this sham of a marriage, I would never have his girl in my bed.
Not to take anything away from her, because not only was Lacy brilliant, but she was also beautiful.
Her caramel skin was always polished, and her smile could light up any room.
Not only were her teeth as straight as they could be, but they were also white as hell.
Her smile put those paid-for smiles to shame any day.
She was fine as hell and thick in all the right places, so I understood why she had bruh about to lose his shit in front of these snobby ass people at this dinner party.
“No, Lacy. I’m sick of this shit.” Michael’s loud outburst was heard throughout the ballroom, and since these uppity ass people had little excitement in their lives, all eyes were trained on him.
Lacy was trying to speak in quiet tones, but the more she tried to quiet Michael, the louder he raised his voice.
I knew a man who was fed up when I saw one, and Michael was clearly fed up.
Doing the opposite of what everyone else was doing, I walked to the bar to get another drink since the waiter who’d been feeding me drinks all night was also caught up in my fiancée’s drama.
Thankfully, the bartender was ready to take my order as soon as I made it over. “Let me get a crown and Coke.”
“Um, actually, hold that order,” my father said, walking up at almost the same time. Once the bartender left to tend to other patrons, he turned his attention to me. “Shouldn’t you be tending to your woman, son?”
“We both know that ain’t my fucking woman.”
“Well, in less than a month, you two will be married, and what will be your excuse then?”
“I’ll decide after I say I do,” I answered my father, my back already to him as I walked off. Our relationship hadn’t always been so strained, but I couldn’t respect a man who allowed money to make important decisions for him. That shit may have been cool when it came to his life, but not mine.
My plan for tonight was to mind my business, but as soon as I sat back down at the table, I felt my mother’s eyes on me.
She was nudging me to go and check on Lacy with her eyes.
I’d always been able to sense her disapproval, and like any man, I never wanted to disappoint my mother.
I’d made a promise, and since Lacy was hellbent on seeing this thing through, I had no choice but to play my part.
This would be the last thing they could ever hold over my head, so once I walked down that aisle, I would cut all ties with this entire world.
What Lacy and her dude had going on had absolutely nothing to do with me, but in my mother’s eyes and everyone else’s, Lacy was my soon-to-be wife.
That alone was what made me get up out of my seat when the disagreement got louder.
It was my job to protect her from whatever she had going on with her real man.
I moved at a quick pace until I was within speaking distance.
Once I got the conversation calm, they were free to continue, but they were causing too much attention, and attention would do nothing but make mothafuckas start asking questions none of us were ready to answer. This wasn’t the time or place.
“Maybe we should take this outside.” I stepped up and placed one hand on each of their shoulders. I could feel the relief in Lacy’s demeanor, but not Michael’s. I only wanted to end the show they were putting on in front of our whole engagement party, but I could tell it was about to get worse.
“We’re not taking anything outside. If I walk outside with you, I’m going to put you on your ass.” Michael’s declaration took me by surprise because we both knew that was a lie. I didn’t know if he had other niggas in the streets scared of him, but I knew for sure there was no way he could beat me.
There was nothing or no one I had to be afraid of, especially not some nigga who would let his girl agree to marry another man.
It wasn’t my place to tell Lacy she deserved more, but if she were my real girl, there was no way I would let her parents convince her to marry someone else.
The only thing I could see that would allow a man to do something like that was if he really didn’t care about her at all.
There would be nothing standing between the woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and me.
So, while Michael was standing there, making a scene, it was clear he wasn’t ready to risk it all for her.
From what I had heard from Lacy, Michael needed the money that her parents were giving her for this wedding just as much as she did, which meant neither of them wanted to get cut off.
I’d been making my own money since I was sixteen, so there was no way I was letting another grown man tell me what I was and wasn’t going to do.
I never cared about the trust fund my parents had set up for me, and I rarely accepted money from them.
I didn’t spend a lot of money, which meant my pay from the Army was enough for me to live a modest lifestyle.
Lacy was the complete opposite, and her parents had been spoiling her like a princess since the day she was born. Michael clearly wanted a piece of that.
“I see you upset, so I’m going to let you have that one.
But let’s be clear. That’s the only pass you getting from me.
” I stepped toe-to-toe with Michael, waiting for him to say another word.
Just like the coward I knew he was, he stepped back before readjusting his clothes and walking toward the door.
“Lacy, let’s do this outside,” he threw over his shoulder, and she followed right behind him.
Instead of following them out, I walked back over and sat beside my mother.
I wanted her to be the first to hear the words I was about to let come out of my mouth.
I knew defying my father was the only thing I could do to break her heart, but I was done living for anyone other than myself. Life was too short.
“I’m sorry, Mama, but I can’t do this. The wedding is off.
” I kissed her on the cheek before getting up from my seat and leaving the ballroom altogether.
After I told my mother what was up, I didn’t owe anyone else an explanation.
My decision was final, and there was nothing anybody could say or do to change my mind. I’d put enough energy into this lie.